


To Wed a Wild Duchess

by lesbianbean



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Butch/Femme, Cultural Differences, Dancing, Emotional Abuse, Enemies to Allies To Lovers, F/F, Matchmaking, Political Manuvering, Regency Era, Rule 63, revolutionary leader falls for repressed duchess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:08:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29391018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianbean/pseuds/lesbianbean
Summary: Lady Starscream's dreadful uncle hopes to marry her off to secure a favorable alliance for the wealthy city-state of Vos. Lord Protector Megatron, the towering new leader of a unified Kaon, has traveled to Vos hoping to secure funds to continue her military campaign. What will happen when their red strings of fate become entangled?
Relationships: Megatron/Starscream (Transformers), Shockwave & Soundwave (Transformers), Skywarp/Thundercracker (Transformers)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 38





	1. ...ready for it?

**Author's Note:**

> language marked like [this] indicates it's in sign language. Also, there are trans and nonbinary characters and gay marriage is legal b/c I said so. That's all the explanation I'm providing, I hope that's all that's necessary. Anyway have fun.

Thundercracker leaned forward in her seat as the carriage turned onto the road where their mansion waited. She was giddy with excitement--the journey had been agonizingly slow, thanks to her father’s carriage wheel splintering and a freak storm, but now she had finally left the dreary countryside and arrived at the Vosnian shore where her two dearest friends resided. 

The carriage stopped with a jolt. 

“Well, we’ve arrived.” Her father rose, brushing off his trousers. Thundercracker could sense his impatience--he likely had business in town. 

“Father, might I run down the road to call on the Avens? I am quite eager to see them.”

He looked relieved. “Of course, my dear. Do give them my regards, will you?”

“Of course.”

The Aven mansion was, of course, much grander than the one Thundercracker’s family occupied during the summer months. It perched elegantly on a cliff overlooking the sea like the nest of a great albatross. It was, of course, familiar to Thundercracker, but she always felt the same awe seeing its imposing facade. 

“TC?” Thundercracker immediately recognized the voice and her childhood nickname. “I thought it was you!” Skywarp rushed down the path and embraced her before Thundercracker could say anything in greeting. Thundercracker embraced her old friend back, her heart fluttering. “You are late, however. Very naughty of you.” Skywarp held her at arm’s length. “Oh, and you’ve grown even more beautiful since we last saw each other. How dreadfully unfair.”

Thundercracker cursed her pale complexion--Skywarp and her sister had thankfully been blessed with dark skin that hid blushes more easily. “Please, you are the beautiful one.” And Skywarp was, with her easy smile and deep brown eyes. Thundercracker had always thought so.

Skywarp glanced over her shoulder, biting her lip, and then leaned in and quickly kissed Thundercracker on the lips.

“Skywarp, we might be seen!” 

“Don’t worry, everyone in the house is distracted at the moment.” She linked arms with Thundercracker. “On that note, we need to go assist my sister.”

Thundercracker’s father, Sir Pluvia, had been made the Aven family’s acquaintance roughly ten years ago, on business. It was a most profitable friendship and business alliance for both. Thundercracker had recently begun her transition, and had been eager for female companionship, which the Aven daughters, equally hungry for friendship, provided. Skywarp and her acid-tongued older sister Starscream were known as the loveliest and wealthiest ladies in Vos and Thundercracker was soon reliably the third lady accompanying them on promenades. She had been their closest comfort four years ago after the High Duke and Duchess had died tragically in a carriage accident.

“Their companionship will guarantee you an excellent match someday soon,” her mother had said a week before as Thundercracker was being fit for her travelling wardrobe, and Thundercracker had bitten her lip. In truth, ever since Skywarp had kissed her last summer she had known there was but one match for her. 

* * *

Thundercracker and Skywarp immediately heard the muffled shouts upon entering the house. The housekeeper gave them an apologetic smile as she took their wraps. “You do know how they get.”

Thundercracker winced at the sound of glass shattering. “Whatever is the matter?”

“Uncle is concerned about some overseas politics and wants to marry Starscream off to make sure Vos is secure. But you know my sister, she is unlikely to be a pawn in anyone’s game.” 

The study door banged open and a young woman in red stormed out. Thundercracker took a half step forward. “Starscream.” 

Starscream’s glare only deepened. “Oh, now you are here? I hadn’t expected you until the end of the season, given how much you dragged your feet.” 

Thundercracker walked over to her, ignoring Skywarp’s gesture of warning, and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl. Starscream made an outraged noise, but after a moment she returned her embrace. 

They retreated to the drawing room for tea and biscuits.

“Everything is perfectly dreadful.” Starscream swooned on one of the couches, throwing an arm over her head. “Uncle has taken leave of what little mind he had, and now I am to be traded away to Kaon like a lamb to the slaughter.”

Thundercracker blew on her tea to cool it. “So, you are to be married?”

“Ugh! Not yet, but if he has his way, I am to be the bride of the Lord Protector of Kaon.” 

Thundercracker started in surprise. “Not Kaon!”

Starscream rolled her eyes. “Yes, Kaon. Uncle is quite afraid that the Mighty Megatron’s army might set its sights on Vos next, and he believes that giving her a wife will tame her bloodlust. And of course, marrying me off gives him control over Vos, which he thinks I am stupid enough to not realize.” She propped herself up on one elbow and daintily took another biscuit. “So now at tomorrow’s ball I am to be a piece of bait to lure the warlord to civilized society.” 

Thundercracker took another sip of tea. “She will be at tomorrow’s ball?”

“Oh yes.” Starscream had a wicked smile on her face. “Where I intend to show her just how unsuited I am to being anyone’s pawn in political games.” 

* * *

Lord Megatron had been in Vos only a few hours and she was already weary of it. The house that her party had been set up in was ten times more elaborate than it needed to be and she already yearned to be back in Kaon, in the old stone hunting lodge that they had converted into a military base. Instead, she was languishing in a study with enough expensive furnishings to support one of Kaon’s families for a month. Lord Megatron was blessed with many gifts, which had served her quite well in her five and thirty years, but patience was not among them. It was this impatience that had made her such an effective commander when unifying the disparate peoples of Kaon--she was loath to rest on her laurels, always pushing forward. Now her home country stood united, and men who once bet on her in street fights quailed before her. And she wanted more. 

[Tomorrow there is a ball] Soundwave signed. Dear Soundwave! If you were to one day have a friend and ally half as great as Soundwave, you would count yourself lucky indeed. Soundwave had been Megatron’s closest companion since the two of them had met on the poorest streets of an already poor city. 

[I am here for business, not dancing, as you know.]

[It may be necessary to multi-task.] Soundwave shot a meaningful look at their wife, Shockwave, who was absorbed in a thick leather-bound book. Shockwave looked up, clearing her throat uncomfortably, and shifting so he faced both of them. “Yes. My lord, if we wish to continue our military conquest at its current pace, we require funds.”

“I am aware of that, Shockwave. That is the reason why we are in this godforsaken country in the first place.”

Shockwave reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “I have a list of household heads in Vos who have expressed an interest in speaking with us. It includes the High Duke Aven.”

“Oh?” Megatron was surprised--her knowledge of the duke expected that he would have allied himself against her. 

“He does, however, have a caveat.”

“Of course.” 

Shockwave looked over at Soundwave, who gave her a patronizing look, and then turned back to Megatron. “You heard about the tragic accident involving the previous Duke and Duchess.”

“No.”

“Well, they are dead, and the current patron of Vos is not the true heir--in theory, he is supposed to pass it on to his niece, Lady Starscream when she turns one and twenty. However, if she is married before then--”

“No.” Megatron cut her off. “Absolutely not.” 

“Do not interrupt me.” Soundwave held up a hand, confident in their knowledge that they were perhaps the only person in the world who could so easily cut off the Lord of Kaon. “Additionally, from what we have gathered, the Duke is concerned about our military expansion and believes we have designs on Vos.” 

“Which--” Megatron glanced at the door, remembering the house was full of servants who were likely also spies, and then switched to sign language. [Which we do, of course.]

[Yes. Anyway, he believes a marriage would guarantee his continued physical and economic protection.]

[While we both know you have no intention to marry, it would be useful if you could at least appear amenable to the idea.] Shockwave added. [At least until we’ve gotten to know our financial options. Perhaps dance with her at the ball tomorrow.]

Megatron sighed. “I will not be able to escape attending this ball, will I?”

“No.”

* * *

Perhaps you, like Lord Megatron and her party, have never been to a ball in Vos. If not, you would be astonished by the lavish extravagance--the sugared pastries, glittering diamonds, and heavenly music. Vos's balls are a chance for the small polity’s upper crust to not just demonstrate their own wealth and power, but also secure an advantageous match to further increase their standing. 

“Smooth your gown,” Starscream hissed to her sister. She shielded her own face with her fan.

“Calm your nerves, sister. The Lord might not even be at tonight’s ball, and then you will have worried for nothing.”

“I am not worried!” Starscream nearly stomped her foot but remembered at the last moment that she was at a ball, and there were always eyes on her. 

She and her sister had both gotten new dresses for the occasion--Skywarp was clad in purple satin trimmed with lace and silk ribbons, while she wore a magnificent red gown embroidered intricately with golden birds. She would have loved the gown, and the jewels that had come with it, if not for the knowledge that her uncle had allowed the purchase of the new gown to make her more appealing as a marriage prospect.

“Do you think they will have the lemon custard tarts again?” Thundercracker was on her other side, in light blue satin. “They were so delicious last season.”

“I believe they have the same cook employed.” Skywarp whispered, bouncing a little in place. “Oh, they were divine!” 

“Hush you two! There are more important things than pastries.” She glanced over at the table. “Will you bring me pomegranate cream, if they have it?” 

The band struck up a gavotte, and Skywarp grabbed Thundercracker’s hand. “Let us dance before we eat! Come on.” She glanced over at Starscream hopefully, and Starscream rolled her eyes. Her sister’s schoolgirl infatuation would likely only end in a broken heart, if she was lucky. Four dances later and the two of them were giddy with champagne and custard. They had stuck closely to each other, switching leads each dance.

When Starscream first arrived out as an eligible seventeen-year-old, she immediately noticed the looks men gave her. She received five proposals that year, but her uncle had turned each one down. He claimed to be looking after her welfare, but she quickly put the pieces together--a marriage would place Vos in the hands of herself and her husband, and he was unlikely to allow that. 

Still, she danced with the men, she smiled at them, she laughed at their inane jokes. In the event she was able to gain control of her birthright, she would need their support, and her charm was the best weapon she had. Also, if her dance card was full, her uncle couldn’t force her to dance with the Lord of Kaon when she finally showed up. 

Starscream had just taken her second glass of champagne and turned to her sister to comment on the truly hideous dress that Lady Featherbrush was wearing when there was the sound of a utensil tapping against crystal and a hush swept over the room--Vosnians were nothing if not attuned to etiquette.

Starscream’s uncle cleared his throat. “Good people of Vos, it is my honor to introduce you to the Supreme Lord Protector of Kaon, Megatron, as well as her companions, the honorable Soundwave and Shockwave.”

Starscream nearly choked on her champagne, and quickly pulled Skywarp and Thundercracker to stand in front of her. It was then, over their shoulders, that she first beheld the Lord Protector.

* * *

Megatron despised formal wear, but she’d acquiesced to the tailcoat and cravat and gloves and thousand other fussy articles of clothing that Vosnian nobles wore to a ball. She noticed people skeptically eyeing her--perhaps they would have preferred a gown, but she wouldn’t be caught dead in a corset, and she was finally powerful enough that she didn’t have to worry about what the upper crust thought of what she looked like. Shockwave and Soundwave entered behind her--Shockwave in purple and Soundwave in blue.

“Ah, Lord Megatron.” Lord Avem approached her, a wide smile on his face. It didn’t reach his cold brown eyes, she noticed. “It is an honor that you’ve graced us with your presence at our humble celebration.” He bowed, and Megatron bowed back, trying not to sneer. 

“It is an honor to meet you as well, sir.” 

His smile dropped for just a moment--barely at all, but Megatron noticed. She filed it away to contemplate later. “I am sure you wish to sample Lord Featherbrush’s cook’s marvelous cooking, but please, allow me to do some introductions first. I am sure you have heard of my niece’s beauty.” He gestured at a cluster of girls standing near one of the room’s ornate marble fireplaces. In their bright gowns, with their heads bent together, they looked almost like a flock of exotic birds. “The ones in red and purple are mine--and the one in red is Starscream, my eldest. I am sure you have heard of her fable beauty.” 

Starscream was talking intently to the girl in blue, but she seemed to sense Megatron’s gaze on her and glanced up. When their eyes met, Megatron felt a sudden sense of vertigo, as if the polished marble floor had been transformed into the deck of a ship in a storm. “Come come, you must meet.” 

* * *

The Lord Protector of Kaon was tall and striking. She was dressed like a man, seemingly oblivious to what a breach in etiquette that was. Instead of disapproval, the Vosnian elite looked almost frightened by her, and Starscream felt a surge of resentment, particularly when she saw how other women were looking at Megatron. Her uncle was speaking, bowing and scraping before this terrifying woman, but Megatron was only looking at her. She bowed, a faint smile on her lips and Starscream shivered. 

“Lady Starscream. It is an honor to meet you.”

She curtsied, vaguely aware of Thundercracker and Skywarp doing the same on either side of her. “And you, Lord Megatron.”

“If you are available, could I claim you for the next dance?” 

Starscream tutted daintily. “I’m afraid my dance card is quite full. Perhaps you could have arrived earlier?”

Whatever punishment she would likely face for that was worth it just for the look on her uncle’s face. He snatched her dance card from her hand. “You are dancing with Earl Ventus for the next dance. I will inform him you are unavailable.”

Lord Megatron glanced from her uncle to her, her dark eyebrows drawn together in concern. “Lady Starscream, I do not wish to interfere with your plans, if you wished to dance with someone else--”

“No, it’s all right.” Starscream grabbed her dance card back from her uncle. “It is clear that no one cares about plans I might have made.” She walked out to the dance floor, avoiding Megatron’s eyes. 

The dance was a complex Vosnian reel, but to Starscream’s surprise, Megatron seemed to fall into the steps effortlessly. She smirked at Starscream as they circled each other. 

“Are you impressed by my expertise, Lady Starscream?”

Starscream rolled her eyes. “It would take more than memorizing a few dance steps to impress me, Lord Megatron.” Their hands met for the first time. Starscream could feel the calluses on her palm through her glove, and she wondered if perhaps they were from her sword.

“What a shame. I had hoped to coax a smile from you.”

“Do you make a habit of talking while you are dancing?”

“Of course! It is a wonderful chance to get to know your partner.” Starscream rolled her eyes. “Do you doubt my sincerity?”

“I have long ago learned to doubt everyone’s sincerity, my lord.” She put as much sarcasm as she could on the last words, but Megatron appeared not to notice.

“It must be difficult, assuming the worst of everyone. You never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?”

“What others call prejudice I call an effective method of defense. You cannot tell me you have not done the same on the mean streets of Kaon?”

Megatron’s teasing facade dropped for a moment. “So, you read the papers, Lady Starscream.”

“I am an educated woman, Lord Megatron. You came from nothing. You are a street fighter, a rabble-rouser and highly dangerous, if the reports are to be believed, and now you arrive at one of our high balls flouting every rule of decorum. What should I assume about you?”

“And you are handsome, clever, rich, and unmarried. You are clearly disgusted by nearly every man here, but you have them lined up to dance with you. And you go out of your way to anger your guardian. What should I assume about you?”

Starscream felt heat rush up into her face. “I asked you first.” 

Megatron’s hand brushed over the sliver of skin between the sleeve of Starscream’s gown and her satin glove. “What do you assume about me?” Her voice was almost a whisper. 

The words emerged before she had a chance to think them through. “You’re a killer. With a chip on your shoulder.”

Megatron’s lips curled up. “You’re not wrong.” 

Starscream knew she would regret the answer, but she couldn’t resist asking. “What do you assume about me?”

“You’re a little bird in a gilded cage.” The song ended, and Megatron brought Starscream’s knuckles to her lips. “Thank you for the dance, Lady Starscream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I watched Bridgerton and I've listened to Reputation by Taylor Swift rougly 100 times since quarantine started and also read a lot about gender and power and this monstrosity was the result. Thank you for joining me on this journey.


	2. all eyes on me your illusionist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Megatron and her party make a house call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter specific warning for the threat of physical abuse

While a Vosnian ball is always a thrilling experience, it is the hours afterward where the true gossip happens, in the bedrooms and sitting rooms. And of course, the Aven residence was no exception. Once their corsets were unlaced and their gowns hung up, Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker had the rest of the night to themselves.

“What an evening!” Skywarp spun around the bedroom, her nightdress flapping around her bare legs. “I think we danced nearly every dance, TC!” 

Thundercracker laughed and Starscream tutted sharply, irritated by how giddy her friends were. “Hold your head still! I am not finished with this braid.” 

Thundercracker leaned back, unwilling to argue. “Sorry.” 

“Honestly, you would think you two had never been out before.”

“Come on, Screamer!” Skywarp flopped on the bed. “You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy yourself at least a little.”

“Oh, yes.” Starscream didn’t look up. “It was charming how Lord Megatron insulted me to my face.”

“I don’t know.” Skywarp glanced over at Thundercracker. Her eyes were playful. “I saw how you were looking at Lord Megatron.”

Starscream dropped Thundercracker’s half-finished braid and turned to her sister with an outraged squeak. “ _ How _ was I looking at Lord Megatron?”

“You were flushed. With  _ passion _ .” She rolled over, throwing an arm over her shoulder and gazing at Starscream and Thundercracker with a heavy-lidded stare. A few curls had slipped out of her purple silk hair wrap and they tumbled across her face.

Starscream rolled her eyes. “I think you were mistaking loathing for passion.”

“Oh but that’s always how it starts! Come on, TC. Help me out.”

Starscream shot Thundercracker a look. “Don’t you dare.”

“Oh, but she is right.” Thundercracker reached up, finishing her braid as she spoke. “In all the novels I know, contempt breeds passion.” 

“Tell her about the last one you wrote!” Skywarp bounced on the bed. “The one with the pirate queen and the snobby princess.” Starscream had had quite enough and jumped up and grabbed a pillow, swatting at her frustrating sister, who squeaked and nearly fell off the bed. Undaunted, she called again “Tell her, TC!”

TC drew the book from her bag. “Well, it begins when the stuck-up Princess Fay is captured by the devilish dread Pirate Barrow. Of course, she is determined to escape by any means. But then she wonders...do the wild seas and the pirate king’s strong arms perhaps offer more freedom than her stifled life in court?”

The thought of Megatron’s arms returned to Starscream’s mind, unbidden, and she threw the pillow at Thundercracker, knocking the book out of her hands. Skywarp dove for the book and pulled it open.

“Fay swooned as Barrow pushed her against the ship’s mast. Barrow kissed her neck, and her thighs pressed together, needing some relief from the desperate wanton need she was feeling. Her bosom heaved--”

“Shut  _ up! _ ” Starscream tackled Skywarp and the ensuing scuffle nearly resulted in the book flying out the window. When it finally resolved, Starscream was clutching the book tightly and sitting on top of Skywarp. Thundercracker looked on, amused. Starscream glared at her. “I see you haven’t stopped writing this ridiculous smut?”

Thundercracker shrugged and settled down on the corner of the bed not occupied by the warring sisters. “Winter is long, and I spend much of it alone. You cannot blame me for developing a hobby.”

Starscream rolled off of the bed and bounded over to the wardrobe to hide the book. The sight of her gloves crumpled on the floor of the wardrobe reminded her of the calluses on Megatron’s hands. “Why must she dress like that, though?”

“Like a man?”

“Like a man but not like a man.” Starscream paced around the room, her nightgown billowing out around her. “Like...more somehow. She is so confident, so unafraid. You saw how the other girls looked at her? Like she was from another world. I didn’t know there were women like her.” She looked up to see Skywarp and Thundercracker staring at her. “What?”

“That doesn’t sound like loathing to me.” Skywarp was smirking again. “It sounds like you’re keen on her.” 

“I am not  _ keen _ on her!” 

“This is the third time you have brought her up unprompted.” 

“Because she was rude! Because she was improper! Because she defies all logic! Not because I am keen on her!”

“Sure.” Skywarp looked like she was going to continue when a maid knocked on the door. 

“My ladies.” She bobbed a quick curtsey. “I am sorry to disturb you so late, but Lord Aven has ordered Lady Starscream’s presence.” 

Starscream groaned. “He has, has he? Does he know I have retired for the evening?”

“Yes, my lady. However, he was quite insistent--”

“Very well.” Starscream stood up and grabbed her red silk robe out of the closet. “I suppose I should get this over with.” She glanced over her shoulder at Skywarp and Thundercracker, who both looked worried. “Primus, you two. It’s not as if I’ve been summoned to my doom.” 

Skywarp said nothing, but her eyes were unusually serious. “Be careful.” Thundercracker said.

“I always am.”

* * *

Lord Aven always kept his study brightly lit, even at night. It was also always unnaturally warm, and Starscream could feel her palms beginning to sweat as soon as she closed the door. Her uncle sat at his desk and gestured to the hard-backed seat across from him. His face was unreadable, something Starscream both despised and admired about him. He studied her as she sat down as if he was deciding what mask would most easily frighten her. 

But of course, Starscream wasn’t a naive heartbroken sixteen-year-old, and she had some masks of her own now. She smiled politely at him. “I trust this was important?”

“What was that little stunt you pulled at the ball?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. It is hardly my fault that my dance card was already full. Perhaps Lord Megatron should have arrived earlier?”

“When I ask you to be available to a foreign official, I expect you to be available to a foreign official. It shouldn’t be hard, given your track record of throwing yourself at anyone who pays you the slightest hint of emotion.” 

Starscream resisted the urge to roll her eyes, keeping her own face carefully free of emotion. “I am the true heir to Vos, I will not be lowered to a pawn in whatever deluded little diplomatic games you want to play.”

_ Ah. _ His eyes darted down just a fraction at the mention of her status as the true heir. A point to her.

Lord Aven made an attempt to smile, but it more accurately could have been described as a snarl. “Is it so hard for you to believe we both have the same goals? I want what is best for Vos, just as you do.”

“I find that hard to believe.” 

Her uncle rose and walked over to the fireplace in the guise of adding another log to the fire. Starscream instinctively tensed the minute he left her peripheral vision.  _ Breathe _ , she ordered herself. 

His hand was on her shoulder. “Could you possibly try to be a bit more diplomatic? For all of our sakes?” He squeezed tighter, and Starscream could feel the faint echoes of past injuries--the time he had pushed her down the stairs, the time he had twisted her arm behind her back, the time he had slammed her against his study wall. She knew there would be bruises on her shoulder, tiny finger-shaped ones. Of course, now she had an ace in the hole.

“Don’t you think Lord Megatron will have questions if I am injured? I cannot dance with her if my arm is injured.”

The pressure on her shoulder ebbed and she fought the urge to sigh in relief. “Very well.” For a moment she thought that would be it, and then he shrugged. “Perhaps I should go get Skywarp.”

Her stomach dropped. “Why?”

“I doubt Lord Megatron will care if she is out of commission.”

Starscream jumped to her feet. “Stop.”  _ Stupid. Foolish!  _ The moment she showed emotion, she was at his mercy. “I will do it, all right? Whatever you want. Just leave Skywarp out of this.”

“Megatron is going to call upon you tomorrow. You will be civil and cordial while I meet with her business partners.”

Starscream bowed her head, forcing her face to be blank. Her nails dug into her palms, sharp without the barrier of gloves as a cushion, and she concentrated on the pain. 

* * *

Lord Megatron arrived with her traveling companions shortly after breakfast. She wore dark grey breeches with a matching jacket and a lavender cravat. Starscream told herself sternly not to look at her while she sipped tea and her uncle made small talk. After a stifling half hour of small talk, Lord Aven gave Starscream a meaningful look. “Lord Megatron, if you and Starscream would like some time to speak privately, I would be happy to take your partners on a guided tour of the mansion.” 

Megatron glanced over at her companions, and after a moment of silent communication, the woman in the purple dress nodded. Megatron turned back to Lord Aven. “Of course. If Lady Starscream does not mind?”

Starscream forced a smile. Her throat felt dry. “Of course not.” Her uncle shot her another look over his shoulder and then left.

“I am glad to see you again. I greatly enjoyed our dance last night?”

“Oh, you did? I am glad.”

Megatron clearly picked up on her sarcasm. “You are cruel to me.”   
“Oh, forgive me, my lord.” 

“If you have a vinegar tongue, do not be surprised when you meet someone who can give as good as they get.”

“You think you gave as good as you got?”

“You were insulted, were you not, little bird?”

Starscream felt the heat rising in her face again. “Calling me that is hardly creative. You simply referenced our family crest.”

Megatron’s mouth twisted into a smirk and Starscream felt as if she had walked into a trap. “I also intended to reference your piercing voice. Perhaps you missed that?”

“You--you--” Starscream scrambled for words to put together but couldn’t think past the fury that clouded her head. She half-stood, and then realized there was no way she could leave the room without getting irritating questions she absolutely did not want to answer, and sat back down. “You are without a doubt the rudest and most inconsiderate woman I have had the misfortune to meet.” 

Megatron’s smirk hadn’t wavered. “I’m flattered.”

“I hope you know that regardless of what my uncle says it will be a cold day in hell before I  _ ever _ marry you. I would rather drink arsenic. I would rather burn alive!”   
“Charming.” Megatron nodded towards the chessboard on the sitting-room table. “Do you play?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Seeing as we are not to be married but we still have an hour to waste away pretending to engage in pleasant conversation, perhaps we could do something entertaining?”

“My uncle believes it is an unseemly hobby for a young woman.”

“I know this is only our second time meeting, Lady Starscream, but I get the sense that you do not much care about what your uncle believes.”

Starscream nearly laughed at that before she caught herself. “Yes. I am familiar with the game.” 

Megatron walked around the table to the other side of the board, pulling a chair so she was facing her. “Show me.”

Starscream’s uncle may have believed that chess was unseemly, but it had been a favorite pastime of mother’s. And later, when she was a student at finishing school, she had played it with--no she would not think of her. 

In any case, Starscream was quite experienced at chess. During the long days in the wake of her parent’s funeral, while she was in mourning, she would play long games against herself, turning the board around and around. She was still half-convinced her uncle had only condemned it as “unseemly” because he knew it gave her some comfort.

Megatron clearly began the game with the expectation of an easy victory--perhaps she had hoped she would be able to further rile her up. Starscream saw the gleam in her eyes. Initially, Megatron appeared to have the advantage. She struck out, controlling much of the board, and her smirk grew. Starscream was careful to keep her own face expressionless. When her own strategy began to pay off and Megatron’s pieces fell to her one by one, she didn’t let her triumph show, until Megatron’s king was pinned between her bishop and her rook. Megatron looked up at her with the same probing curious look she had the night before. 

“You are more than familiar with this game, Lady Starscream.”   
“Believe me, Lord Megatron, you are not the first to underestimate me.” She glanced down at the board. “Shall we play again?”

They were halfway through the second game when they heard the sounds of the other party returning. Lord Megatron reached out and caught her hand in her own. 

“If I were to call on you again for another game of chess, would you allow it?”

“You insult me to my face and now you wish to call on me again?”

“Come now, Lady Starscream. Allow me to regain my honor, which you so cruelly stole from me today on the chessboard.”

Unbidden, the thought that today’s chess game had been the most interesting hour she had spent for ages came to her mind. “Very well. But you must practice. I grow bored winning so easily.” 


End file.
